Onin.London visits Dream Xi’An For Home Made Noodles And Yummy Food
Guirong Wei, chef and founder of Master Wei, an independent London restaurant dedicated to showcasing the cuisine of Xi’an, northern China, is featured in the latest season of the Emmy nominated show Netflix show ‘Chef’s Table’. ‘Chef’s Table: Noodles’ which premiered in an October.
Guirong’s journey is made more extraordinary in that she is one of very few Chinese women Head Chefs, and one of even fewer to master the physical art of making the thick belt-like ‘Biang Biang’ noodles. Born in Xi’an, the capital city of Shaanxi province in northern China, she learned to cook at the age of 13, and became the only female Head Chef in her city, before moving to London in 2008. Cooking in restaurants serving primarily Sichuan food, she then quickly realised her ambition of putting her cuisine on the map, opening the cult Xi’an Impression restaurant in Islington in 2015, before going on to open her first Master Wei in 2019 in Holborn to critical acclaim.
Since then, Guirong has expanded Master Wei into a second restaurant in Hammersmith in 2024, as well as another Shaanxi restaurant in Tower Hill, Dream Xi’an also in 2024. Her food is rich in spices, which is owed to Xi’an being at one end of the famous Silk Road trade artery through Eurasia, and the significant Muslim population in the Shaanxi province – as well as regional chillis being imported from Shaanxi, which Guirong handpicks herself to her own high standards.
With this in mind we were excited to bust Dream Xi’an and try the noodles ourselves! Especially as it was in the midst of the Chinese Lunar New Year Celebrations.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the friendly staff and seated in the corner of the restaurant which allowed us to people watch. This little restaurant tucked away from tourist hot spots felt like a little hidden gem.
We ordered the salt and pepper squid and prawns, with both my friend and I couldn’t deciding which we preferred but the flavour was definitely there on both. I had to go the Sweet Corn Soup as I’ve been craving it lately and while I prefer mine with a little more salt and pepper, it didn’t disappoint.
I’ve also been on a dumpling kick lately so had to get the classic pork dumplings. These were tasty and went down a treat.
Our drinks took awhile to arrive but when they did, we were very happy with them. I went an apple and kiwi mocktail while my friend went with the Sex On The Beach. Both tasted great and my friend said she couldn’t tell the Mocktail had no alcohol! Doing dry Jan has really changed my perspective on non-alcohlic drinks!
For mains we had to try the chef’s classic Biang Biang noodles with slow cooked beef rib and they did not disappoint! Spicy, fresh and with meat so tender it just fell apart.. what’s not to love. The sweet and sour pork was great too! They were very generous with the portions with more meat to veg ratio which we love to see! Served with a side of fried rice we loved that we had left overs for the next day!
Master Wei | Holborn
13 Cosmo Place, London WC1N 3AP
Master Wei | Hammersmith
Hammersmith Road, London W6 8PW
Dream Xi’an | Tower Hill
Tower Place, London EC34 5BU
